Hair Dye Applicator

ABSTRACT

A hair-dye applicator for applying dye onto hair includes at least one retaining member, each retaining member having a leading edge. An insert is affixed adjacent an inner surface of each retaining member, the insert being flexible and resilient and including a plurality of slits, each slit beginning at a first end of the insert and extending into a body portion of the insert. The leading edge of each retaining member extends beyond the first end of the insert. The plurality of slits is unobstructed by the at least one retaining member, such that as a user&#39;s hair is combed with the applicator, the user&#39;s hair is caused to pass through the slits and dye that is carried on the insert is transferred to the user&#39;s hair without the insert touching the scalp.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to the field of hair dye applicators. Inparticular, it relates to an apparatus for applying hair dye while atthe same time avoiding contact of the hair dye with the scalp.

BACKGROUND

It is common to apply hair dye to cover up greying hair or to otherwiseenhance or change one's natural hair color. That being said, the processof dyeing hair presents two significant challenges; i) the dye should beapplied evenly to the roots and shaft of the hair in a manner that isnot wasteful of the dye, and ii) the dye should not contact the scalp,hands, or any other surfaces that are not to be dyed. A variety of dyeapplicators have been proposed, none of which is entirely satisfactory.

US Patent Pub. No. 2014/0130821 discloses a hair dyeing comb thatincludes a member that is vertically inserted into a longitudinal slotin an upper surface of the comb. The member includes a series of teethat a bottom portion thereof which serves to hold hair color wax that isinserted into a cavity at a top portion thereof, as this comb does notinclude a feature to pump hair dye into the comb. Although the member isvertically adjustable within the comb body, the hair color wax cannot beadvanced beyond about the midpoint of the long teeth. When the user'shair is being dyed, strands of the hair are guided between the longteeth and come into contact with the lower surface of the hair colorwax. As such, the dyeing agent is applied to only one side of the hairduring a single pass of the comb, necessitating several passes in orderto ensure full coverage.

US Patent Pub No. 2008/0060665A1 discloses a tool for hair-dyeapplication that includes a porous body in between two sets of teeth.Hair color is pumped onto the porous body, and is applied to the hairvia the porous body. The porous body can be made of sponge-likematerial. In addition, the ends of the comb teeth stick out from the endof the porous body from between 0.2 to 3.0 mm. The hair color is pumpedonto the comb/porous body portion, while the porous body is required notbe in contact with the teeth of the comb. Unfortunately, the dye can beapplied to only one side of the hair during a single pass of the comband therefore several passes are needed to ensure full coverage.

Another device is described in TW1403289, in which a porous body iscontained inside a compartment that is formed within the body of a comb.The bottom of the compartment defines spaced-apart gaps, and the porousbody protrudes through these gaps to support transfer of the dye out ofthe compartment. A comb guide, in the form of rows of teeth, extendsalong the length of the body of the comb in order to space the porousbody away from the user's scalp during dyeing of the user's hair. Onceagain, the dye is applied to only one side of the hair during a singlepass of the comb, necessitating several passes in order to ensure fullcoverage. It would be advantageous to provide an apparatus thatovercomes at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages of theprior art.

SUMMARY

The hair-dye applicator in its general form will first be described, andthen its implementation in terms of preferred embodiments will bedetailed hereafter. These embodiments are intended to demonstrate theprinciple of the invention, and the manner of its implementation. Thehair-dye applicator in its broadest and more specific forms will then befurther described, and defined, in each of the individual claims whichconclude this specification.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair-dyeapplicator comprising: a) at least one retaining member, each retainingmember having a leading edge; and b) an insert affixed adjacent an innersurface of each retaining member, the insert being flexible andresilient, and including a plurality of slits, each slit beginning at afirst end of the insert and extending into a body portion of the insert;wherein the leading edge of each retaining member extends beyond thefirst end of the insert.

The insert can be removably or permanent affixed to the at least oneretaining member; i.e. it can be removed from the one or more retainingmembers and discarded after use, with a new insert affixed to the one ormore retaining members. The insert may be absorbent of the hair-dye, andmay be made of a sponge-like material, for example.

At least one retaining member can comprise one or more teeth, such thatspacing between successive teeth is greater than a width of each tooth,and insert slits are within the spacing. Each slit can be placed withina central third of a respective inter-tooth spacing. In addition, atleast one tooth may comprise one or more protrusions that protrude intothe insert. The protrusions may extend all the way through the insertand engage a complementary structure on an opposite tooth, so as to lockthe insert in place. Optionally, some of the teeth are shorter thanothers. For instance, the teeth may alternate long-short-long-shortetc., such that fewer teeth contact the scalp and therefore the risk ofthe hair-dye being transferred to the scalp is further reduced.

Each retaining member can be made of a lightweight material—for example,vinyl, plastic, or combinations thereof.

In addition, the applicator can comprise of first and second retainingmembers, with the insert affixed between the first and second retainingmembers. The applicator may also include a handle.

When using the applicator, hair-dye can be placed on an outer surface ofthe insert.

In accordance with an aspect of at least one embodiment, there isprovided a hair-dye applicator comprising: a) at least one retainingmember, each retaining member having a leading edge; b) an insertaffixed adjacent an inner surface of each retaining member, the insertbeing flexible and resilient and including a plurality of slits, eachslit beginning at a first end of the insert and extending into a bodyportion of the insert; wherein the leading edge of each retaining memberextends beyond the first end of the insert, and wherein the plurality ofslits is unobstructed by the at least one retaining member, such that asa user's hair is combed with the applicator, the user's hair is causedto pass through the slits and dye that is carried on the insert istransferred to the user's hair without the insert touching the scalp.

In accordance with an aspect of at least one embodiment, there isprovided a hair-dye applicator comprising: a first retaining membercomprising a first row of teeth that extend away from an applicator bodyalong a first direction; a second retaining member comprising a secondrow of teeth that extend away from the applicator body along the firstdirection, wherein the second row of teeth is disposed beside the firstrow of teeth, and the second row of teeth is spaced-apart from the firstrow of teeth to form a space therebetween; an insert disposed within thespace and affixed adjacent an inner surface of each retaining member,the insert being flexible and resilient and having a plurality of slitsformed therein, each slit beginning at a first end of the insert andextending into a body portion of the insert, and each slit alignedapproximately centrally within a different space formed between adjacentteeth of each of the retaining members; wherein the teeth of the firstand second retaining members extend past the first end of the insertalong the first direction.

In accordance with an aspect of at least one embodiment, there isprovided a method of applying hair-dye to a user's hair, comprising:providing a hair-dye applicator comprising an insert that is retainedbetween two retaining members, the insert having a plurality of slitsformed therein, each slit beginning at a first end of the insert andextending into a body portion of the insert, and the two retainingmembers each comprising teeth that extend past the first end of theinsert, the teeth of each of the two retaining members beingspaced-apart, such that a space is formed between each pair of adjacentteeth, and each slit being disposed approximately centrally within adifferent one of the spaces; loading a quantity of hair-dye product ontoportions of the insert that are located within the spaces between eachpair of adjacent teeth of the first retaining member; and transferringthe hair-dye product to the user's hair by combing the loaded applicatorthrough the user's hair, such that strands of the user's hair passthrough the spaces between the teeth of the first retaining member,through the slits of the insert, and through the spaces between theteeth of the second retaining member, wherein the two retaining memberscontact the user's scalp and maintain a predetermined separation betweenthe insert and the user's scalp.

The foregoing summarizes the principal features of the hair-dyeapplicator and some of its optional aspects. The hair-dye applicator maybe further understood by the description of the embodiments whichfollow.

Wherever ranges of values are referenced within this specification,sub-ranges therein are intended to be included within the scope of thehair-dye applicator unless otherwise indicated. Where characteristicsare attributed to one or another variant of the hair-dye applicator,unless otherwise indicated, such characteristics are intended to applyto all other variants of the hair-dye applicator where suchcharacteristics are appropriate or compatible with such other variants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the hair-dyeapplicator.

FIG. 2 is front plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of a second embodiment the hair-dyeapplicator.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side view of an embodiment including a guard member.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of a hair-dye applicator is presented toenable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and isprovided in the context of a particular application and itsrequirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principlesdefined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applicationswithout departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the presentinvention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed,but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principlesand features disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate an embodiment of the hair-dye applicator (5), whichincludes a first retaining member (10) and a second retaining member(15). A hair-dye applicator can also be constructed using only oneretaining member. In this embodiment, each retaining member (10, 15)includes a series of teeth (12, 17). While teeth are illustrated, it isunderstood that one or both retaining members may have alternatestructures, rather than teeth. The spacing between successive teeth isgreater than the width of each tooth. The retaining members (10, 15) areconnected to a common handle (30). An insert (20) that is flexible andresilient is set snugly between each retaining member (10, 15), and isaffixed adjacent an inner surface of each retaining member (10, 15). Theinsert (20), which is porous, can be made of a foam- or sponge-likematerial. Furthermore, the insert (20) includes a plurality of slits(25), each of which begins at one end or edge (22) of the insert (20),and extends into the body of the insert (20). In this embodiment, theslits (25) extend all the way through the body of the insert, althoughit is understood that the slits may extend only partway through the bodyof the insert (20). The edge (22) of the insert (20) does not extend tothe leading edge (40, 45) of each retaining member (10, 15). As anexample, the insert (20) may extend to within 0.5 mm-3 mm, or within 1mm of the leading edge (40, 45) of each retaining member (10, 15).

The insert (20) can be affixed by conventional means, for example, byadhesive, to the inner surface of each retaining member (10, 15).Alternatively, the insert can be affixed by just protrusions on theinner surface of teeth.

In a second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the insert can also beaffixed by an optional use of protrusions (50) on the inner surface ofteeth (12, 17). The protrusions can be placed randomly or evenly on theinner surface of the teeth (12, 17), i.e. on one or more teeth; on thetop and/or bottom; along the length of the teeth, or partway thereof, orany combination thereof. The protrusions provide an additional structurefor affixing the insert (20) to the retaining members (10, 15) byfriction between the protrusions (50) and the insert (20).

Now referring generally to FIGS. 1-6, the first and second retainingmembers (10, 15) are configured and arranged relative to the insert (20)such that the slits (25) are unobstructed. In the illustratedembodiments, the retaining members are provided in the form of rows ofteeth (12, 17), in which the teeth (12) of the first retaining member(10) are arranged opposite the teeth (17) of the second retaining member(15). Each insert slit (25) is disposed approximately centrally betweentwo adjacent teeth (12) of the first retaining member (10), and betweenthe opposite two adjacent teeth (17) of the second retaining member(15). Further, each insert slit (25) extends all the way through theinsert (20), between a side of the insert (20) that is adjacent to thefirst retaining member (10) and the opposite side of the insert (20)that is adjacent to the second retaining member (15).

In order to use the hair-dye applicator, the hair dye is applied to thespacing between the teeth (12, 17), onto an outer surface of the insert(20). The applicator (5) is then applied to the root of hair, such thatthe leading edges (40, 45) of each retaining member (10, 15) touch theroot of the hair. As the hair is combed through with the applicator (5),the hair passes through the slits (25) and teeth (12, 17) of theapplicator (5), the dye on the insert (20) covers the entire hair strandfrom the root to the tip, without touching the scalp—since the insert(20) does not touch the scalp.

The plurality of slits (25) serves at least two functions. First, sincethe insert (20) is flexible and resilient, and since it is held tightlybetween the retaining members (10, 15), the hair strands are coated onall sides as they pass through the slits (25). As a result, a more evenapplication of the hair-dye is achieved with fewer passes than isrequired using the prior art devices that have been describedpreviously. Second, the dye-transfer region of an apparatus according toan embodiment of the invention is much longer than the dye-transferregion of the prior art devices. This is because dye transfer occursalong the length of each of the slits (25), and thus the length of thedye-transfer region is the sum of the lengths of the plurality of slits.In contradistinction the dye transfer region in the prior art devicescorresponds essentially to the first end (22) of the insert (20). Theincrease length of the dye-transfer region allows more hair to be dyedin a single pass of the applicator (5) compared to the prior artdevices, and/or ensures more complete and more even application of thehair dye to each strand of hair.

The following description is presented to enable a person skilled in theart to make and use the invention, and is provided in the context of aparticular application and its requirements. In particular, theinvention is described in terms of the specific application of formingbutt-welded blanks, but it is to be understood that other applicationsare also envisaged, such as for instance welding coated sheet-formedcomponents. Further, various modifications to the disclosed embodimentswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments andapplications without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus,the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodimentsdisclosed, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with theprinciples and features disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein ismeant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereofas well as additional items.

In other embodiments, it is contemplated that the insert (20) can beremoved after it is worn out, or, replaced by another insert for usewith another color.

In other embodiments, it is contemplated that a guard member (70) isprovided for minimizing the transfer of hair-dye to the user's hands orother surfaces to which the hair-dye is not to be applied. FIG. 7 is aside view and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an embodiment thatincludes a guard member (70), which is mounted adjacent to the secondretaining member (15) of the applicator (5). The guard member (70) isflexible and resilient, and is mounted at a mounting end thereof to theapplicator (5). The guard member (70) extends along a direction towardthe leading edge (45) of the second retaining member (15), becomingincreasingly spaced-apart from the second retaining member (15) andterminating at a free end (72) that is approximately aligned with theone end or edge (22) of the insert (20). Optionally, at least the freeend (72) of the guard member (70) is formed of a material that isabsorbent of the hair-dye, such that the formation of drips isminimized.

In some embodiments the guard member (70) is fixedly secured to thesecond retaining member (15) (i.e., non-removeably secured). In otherembodiments the guard member (70) includes a mounting structure (notshown) for mating to a corresponding mounting structure (not shown) ofthe second retaining member (15), such that the guard member (70) may beremoveably attached to the applicator (5). For instance, the mountingstructure of the second retaining member (15) includes channels orguides for receiving edge structures of the guard member (70) and alocking mechanism for retaining the guard member (70) in place when theedge portions thereof are received within the channels or guides.Alternatively, the locking mechanism is carried on the guard member(70). Of course, any other suitable mounting structures may be employedto retain the guard member (70) in place.

During use, the guard member (70) guides the hair after it emerges fromthe slits (25) in the insert (20). The guide member (70) catcheshair-dye that splatters from the hair, or that splatters directly fromthe insert (20) itself.

While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustratedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision avariety of other means and/or structures for performing the functionand/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantagesdescribed herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications isdeemed to be within the scope of the invent of embodiments describedherein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciatethat all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations describedherein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters,dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon thespecific application or applications for which the inventive teachingsis/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able toascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalentsto the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is,therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presentedby way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claimsand equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventiveembodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individualfeature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein.In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems,articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent,is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood tocontrol over dictionary definitions, and/or ordinary meanings of thedefined terms. The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein inthe specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.” The phrase“and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, shouldbe understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined,i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases anddisjunctively present in other cases.

Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the samefashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Otherelements may optionally be present other than the elements specificallyidentified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to thoseelements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, areference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-endedlanguage such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only(optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, toB only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet anotherembodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should beunderstood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. Forexample, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall beinterpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, butalso including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and,optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated tothe contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when usedin the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactlyone element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or”as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusivealternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded byterms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or“exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims,shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “atleast one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should beunderstood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more ofthe elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including atleast one of each and every element specifically listed within the listof elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the listof elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally bepresent other than the elements specifically identified within the listof elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether relatedor unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as anon-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “atleast one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) canrefer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including morethan one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements otherthan B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally includingmore than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elementsother than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionallyincluding more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including morethan one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to thecontrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one stepor act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarilylimited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method arerecited.

Numerical ranges include the end-point values that define the ranges.For instance, “between X and Y” includes both X and Y, as well as alltemperature values between X and Y.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitionalphrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,”“containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are tobe understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limitedto. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consistingessentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases,respectively.

The foregoing description of methods and embodiments of the inventionhas been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise steps and/orforms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scopeof the invention and all equivalents be defined by the claims appendedhereto.

1. A hair-dye applicator comprising: a) at least one retaining member,each retaining member having a leading edge; b) an insert affixedadjacent an inner surface of each retaining member, the insert beingflexible and resilient and including a plurality of slits, each slitbeginning at a first end of the insert and extending into a body portionof the insert; wherein the leading edge of each retaining member extendsbeyond the first end of the insert, and wherein the plurality of slitsis unobstructed by the at least one retaining member, such that as auser's hair is combed with the applicator, the user's hair is caused topass through the slits and dye that is carried on the insert istransferred to the user's hair without the insert touching the scalp. 2.The hair-dye applicator of claim 1, wherein the insert is removablyaffixed to the at least one retaining member.
 3. The hair-dye applicatorof claim 1, wherein the insert is permanently affixed to the at leastone retaining member.
 4. The hair-dye applicator of claim 1, wherein theinsert is absorbent of the hair-dye.
 5. The hair-dye applicator of claim1, wherein the at least one retaining member comprises first and secondretaining members, wherein the insert is affixed between the first andsecond retaining members.
 6. The hair-dye applicator of claim 1, whereineach retaining member comprises a plurality of teeth, such that spacingbetween successive teeth is greater than a width of each tooth, andwherein each slit of the plurality of slits of the insert is within adifferent spacing between respective successive teeth of the retainingmembers.
 7. The hair-dye applicator of claim 6, wherein each slit isdisposed approximately centrally within said different spacing.
 8. Thehair-dye applicator of claim 6, wherein at least one tooth of the atleast one retaining member comprises one or more protrusions thatprotrude into the insert.
 9. The hair-dye applicator of claim 1, whereinthe insert is made of a sponge-like material.
 10. The hair-dyeapplicator of claim 1, wherein the hair dye is placed on an outersurface of the insert.
 11. The hair-dye applicator of claim 1, whereineach retaining member is made of a lightweight material selected fromplastic, vinyl and a combination thereof.
 12. The hair-dye applicator ofclaim 5, comprising a guard member having a mounting end that is mountedto the second retaining member opposite the leading edge thereof, andhaving a free end that is aligned approximately with the first end ofthe insert and that is spaced-apart from the second retaining member.13. A hair-dye applicator comprising: a first retaining membercomprising a first row of teeth that extend away from an applicator bodyalong a first direction; a second retaining member comprising a secondrow of teeth that extend away from the applicator body along the firstdirection, wherein the second row of teeth is disposed beside the firstrow of teeth, and the second row of teeth is spaced-apart from the firstrow of teeth to form a space therebetween; an insert disposed within thespace and affixed adjacent an inner surface of each retaining member,the insert being flexible and resilient and having a plurality of slitsformed therein, each slit beginning at a first end of the insert andextending into a body portion of the insert, and each slit alignedapproximately centrally within a different space formed between adjacentteeth of each of the retaining members; wherein the teeth of the firstand second retaining members extend past the first end of the insertalong the first direction.
 14. The hair-dye applicator of claim 13,wherein the insert is removably disposed within the space.
 15. Thehair-dye applicator of claim 13, wherein the insert is permanentlyaffixed within the space.
 16. The hair-dye applicator of claim 13,wherein the insert is absorbent of the hair-dye.
 17. The hair-dyeapplicator of claim 13, wherein at least one tooth of at least one ofthe first and second retaining members comprises one or more protrusionsthat protrude into the insert.
 18. The hair-dye applicator of claim 13,wherein the insert is made of a sponge-like material.
 19. The hair-dyeapplicator of claim 13, comprising a guard member that is mounted at amounting end thereof to the second retaining member, the guard memberbeing increasingly spaced-apart from the first retaining member alongthe first direction, and the guard member terminating at a free endthereof that is aligned approximately with the first end of the insert.20. A method of applying hair-dye to a user's hair, comprising:providing a hair-dye applicator comprising an insert that is retainedbetween two retaining members, the insert having a plurality of slitsformed therein, each slit beginning at a first end of the insert andextending into a body portion of the insert, and the two retainingmembers each comprising teeth that extend past the first end of theinsert, the teeth of each of the two retaining members beingspaced-apart, such that a space is formed between each pair of adjacentteeth, and each slit being disposed approximately centrally within adifferent one of the spaces; loading a quantity of hair-dye product ontoportions of the insert that are located within the spaces between eachpair of adjacent teeth of the first retaining member; and transferringthe hair-dye product to the user's hair by combing the loaded applicatorthrough the user's hair, such that strands of the user's hair passthrough the spaces between the teeth of the first retaining member,through the slits of the insert, and through the spaces between theteeth of the second retaining member, wherein the two retaining memberscontact the user's scalp and maintain a predetermined separation betweenthe insert and the user's scalp.